Force-cup.



A. H. LOWE & G. STEPHENSON.

/ FORGE 0UP.

APPLICATION FILED mm: 20, 1907.

Patented Mar. 16, 1909.

INVENTORS. 0/4504 Willow! and .figy $766k 175W ATTORNEY.

, UNITED sTA rEs PATENT orrron.

ALBERT H. LOWE ANDGUY sTEPHENson, or Louis, nissouai,

FORCE-CUP.

Application'filed June 20, 1907.. Serial No. 379,929.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALBERT H. Lown and GUY STEPHENSON, citizens of theUnited States, residing at St. Louis, State of Missouri, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Force-Cups, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a art hereof.

Our invention has re ation to improvements in force-cups; and itconsists in the novel construction of cup more fully set forth in thespecification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Fi ure 1 is a vertical cross section of a toilet bowlshowing our invention in side elevation, applied to the grating of thebowl; Fig. 2 is a perspective of the cup; Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectionon the line 33 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section on theline 44 of Fig. 1.

The object of our invention is to provide a sucker pump or force-cup fora class of bowls in whic 1 a section of the discharge opening or gratingis located along the vertical wal of the bowl, the ordinary circular cupnot being available for this disposition of opening.

A further object is to construct a cup which will not collapse under thepressure to which it is normally subjected in the ex ulsion of the airfrom within it prior to, and uring the pumping o eration.

In deta' the invention may be described as follows:

Referring to the drawings, B, represents a toilet bowl or urinal havingan angular grating for the draining thereof, this being a commonconstruction with the more improved type of bowls. As is well understoodin the art, the discharge pipe becomes clogged from time to time withsolid substances, such as paper, tobacco quids, tooth-picks, matches,and the like, which material must be loosened to allow for perfectdrainage. It is the object of our invention to dislodge such foreignmaterial with the use of our suction cup or force-cupas commonly knownin the trade. This cup comprises a cup or hood 1 arched on top, andhaving an arched or U- shaped open bottom and front (Figs. 3, 4), theedges of the open portions being provided with an outwardly deflectedyielding flange 2 which engages the vertical and horizontal walls of thebowl at points exterior to the grating g. The arched walls of thecup areprovided, and reinforced with a stiffening Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented March 16, 1909.

metal band 3 disposed parallel to the edges of the open faces of thecup, the band being em bedded in the walls (which as well known arecomposed of rubber) and disposed a suitable distance from the flange 2.

In applying the cup, the pressure exerted thereon to expel the air mustnecessarily be in a direction which will distribute the strains to thebest advantage, and in the form of cup shown we find that a diagonalapplication of the pressure insures the best results, and we accordinglyprovide the cup with a diagonally disposed handle 4 inserted in a socketd at the upper outer corner of the cup, the handle being subsequentlysecured in place by a clamp 5. Pressure upon the handle in the generaldirection of its disposition serves to expel the air from the cup,whereupon the flanges will be forced by atmospheric pressure firmlyagainst the walls of the bowl around the grating; and by a reciprocatingmovement of the handle which results in corresponding dilations andcontractions of the cu the column of air within the drain pipe Wil beset in motion and the solid particles referred to will become dislodged.

Having described our invention what we claim is:

1. A force-cup comprising a on having an open arched front and bottomadapted to engage the contiguous angularly disposed walls of a bowl,substantially as set forth.

2. A force-cup com rising a cup having an open arched front an bottom,and a handle disposed diagonally to the planes of the edges of saidopenings, substantially as set forth.

3. A force-cup comprising a cup having an open arched front and bottom,a marginal outwardly deflected flange disposed about the edges of theopenings aforesaid, a stiifening band formed with the walls of the cupand disposed at asubstantially uniform distance from the flange, and ahandle at the outer diagonal corner of the cup disposed at an incline tothe planes of the edges of said openings, substantially as set forth.

4. A force-cup comprising a cup having an open arched front andbottom,-a marginal outwardly deflected flange ada ted to enengage thecontiguous angular y dis osed walls of a bowl, and a stiffening banembedded in the walls of the cup and disposed at a uniform distance fromsaid flange, substantially as set forth.

5. A force-cup comprising a cup having cup is held against collapse,substantially 10 y g W lls and t rminat ng in an outp set for hv wardlydeflected yielding marginal flange in testimony whereof We affix oursignaadapted to engage the Walls of the opening tng'es, in presence oftwo Witnesses.

5 over which the cup is deposited, a stifiening 3 ALBERT H. LOWE.

and d sposed al ng the walls of th bo ly GUY HENQN portion of the cupin'contiguity to and above 1 Witnesses: the flange, whereby the-flange5s free STABIEK, to respond to atmospheric pressure, and the Jos. A.MICHEL.

